Hong Kong Broadband Network (HKBN) is going head-to-head with a consortium of MBK Partners and TPG Capital as front-runners in a behest for a fixed-line telecommunications business of skill hulk The Wharf (Holdings), according to 3 people with trust of a matter.

Speculation has been abundant that a conglomerate’s Wharf TT operation might fetch a squeeze cost of only over US$1 billion, creation it a latest big-ticket corporate telecommunications merger in Hong Kong given HKT bought CSL New World Mobility for US$2.43 billion in 2014.

Wharf’s divestment plan, that was initial reported by Reuters in June, had also captivated US private equity organisation KKR and mobile network user SmarTone Telecommunications as bidders, a sources said.

Alfred Lau, an researcher during Bocom International, told a South China Morning Post on Monday that he estimated a value of Wharf TT to be “roughly US$500 million”.

“If a Wharf organisation can lift about US$1 billion from a sale, afterwards that would be a certain and outcome in a benefit of US$1 per share,” Lau said.

“That’s not a outrageous amount, though this proceed is in line with Wharf’s devise of divesting non-core resources after locking adult good gratefulness for them.”

When contacted by a Post, KKR, SmarTone, HKBN, TPG and MBK all refused to criticism “on marketplace speculation”.

Stephen Ng Tin-hoi, a authority and handling executive of a Wharf group, final week declined to yield any refurbish on a widely speculated behest process.

“No, not yet,” Ng told a Post on a sidelines of a Wharf skill lecture final Wednesday.

According to sources, Wharf’s proclamation of a bid formula was imminent, following progressing reports that a leader would be famous by Friday this week.

Lau pronounced he was hard-pressed to trust that HKBN could fast pattern a financial resources indispensable to buy Wharf TT.

“Being private-equity firms, KKR and a TPG-MBK organisation would have some-more entrance to financing,” Lau said.

William Yeung Chu-kwong, a arch executive during HKBN, pronounced in Apr that a association was “open to creation another merger if a cost is right”, following a company’s US$650 million money squeeze in Feb of New World Telephone Holdings’ fixed-line broadband network and online selling operations.

That seemed like a rarely flushed opinion from HKBN’s comparison government after their due ubiquitous charge “to issue, distribute and understanding with additional shares not surpassing 20 per cent of a released share collateral of a company” as a approach to fast lift some-more supports was voted down in a check during their annual ubiquitous assembly in December.

San Francisco-based TPG, one of a world’s largest private equity companies, supposing a vital investment in Hong Kong-listed Lenovo Group for a merger of IBM’s personal computing business in 2005.

Seoul-based MBK is a private equity association with a prolonged lane record of investing in Asian telecommunications and pay-TV assets, including in Taiwanese wire TV provider China Network Systems.

Lau pronounced a other widely speculated devise by a Wharf organisation to sell a infancy interest in struggling pay-television user i-Cable Communications “remains a doubt mark”.

“I would be astounded if they gold a understanding to sell both Wharf TT and i-Cable,” he said.

The largest corporate telecommunications buyout in Hong Kong stays a US$38 billion takeover of Cable Wireless HKT in 2000 by Pacific Century CyberWorks, that was aristocrat Richard Li Tzar-kai’s internet investment start-up during a time.